Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Linnaeus       Field Guide IDs: NG-92; G-56; PE-60; PW-pl 11; AE-pl 126; AW-pl 105; AM (I)-196 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy F I: 28-32 DAYS PRECOCIAL 2 6 feet - 60 feet GROUND F 7-10 (5-15) MONOG F: 56-60 DAYS F BREEDING: Ponds, lakes, rivers and coastal bays, wooded marshy habitat. 1 brood. DISPLAYS: See: Duck Displays. NEST: Cavity in tree near water. Lined with chips and down, increasing to thick blanket as incubation advances. EGGS: Light-green/olive-green. 2.4" (60 mm). DIET: In fresh water, aquatic insects, crayfish, fish; some aquatic veg. In salt water, crustaceans, mollusks. CONSERVATION: Winters within N.A. Readily use nest boxes. NOTES: Where nests scarce, females parasitize each other, resulting in clutches often >30 eggs; if parasite's egg(s) added early in laying, nesting female proportionately reduces the number of eggs she lays. Young remain in nest 24-42 hours. Deserted broods occ aggregate in crèches. Do not breed until second year. Yearlings and failed nesters (females) "prospect" for future nest sites while other females are incubating, or shortly after hatching. Males winter farther n than females, who winter farther n than juveniles. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Parasitized Ducks; Dabblers vs. Divers; Crèches; Feathered Nests; Migration. REFERENCES: Andersson and Eriksson, 1982; Bellrose, 1976; Dane and Van der Kloot, 1964; Eadie and Gauthier, 1985; Gooders and Boyer, 1986.